Law of the Ultimate Outcome - Persuasion Strategies - Pt. 9

What's the most important law of persuasion? I think it's the "Law of the Ultimate Outcome," because no other marketing law impacts every single part of your business.

Everyone's heard of a 'marketing message' or a 'unique selling proposition.' Those are what make your business unique and has it stand out amongst a crowd of look-alike services.

But an Ultimate Outcome goes beyond that.

Let me demonstrate what this means to you in one simple example. You might say this is the difference between talking about your business in a general way and talking about it in an outcome-oriented way.

Two people have very similar businesses. They are Human Resource consultants. They have similar backgrounds, similar knowledge and similar skills. But how they talk about their businesses and how they've structured their services is very different.

One of the specialties that both work on are issues regarding retention of key employees. This is an important area for all companies, because if you lose your top talent, you lose your competitive advantage as a company.

HR Consultant #1

She talks about her retention services in these terms: "We work with companies who are concerned about retaining their top people. We work with our clients, to implement strategies that help to both attract the best people and then to retain these employees for the long term. We use tools such as assessments, incentives, culture-matching and management and supervisory skill training."

OK, that sounds pretty good. Sounds like she knows what she's doing and has the understanding, skills and expertise to help her clients. I'd say her overall marketing is pretty clear. Now let's look at how our next consultant helps with retention.

HR Consultant #2

He talks about his retention services in very different terms: "Our average client company is losing between one and twenty million dollars each year due to attrition. These costs are mostly for rehiring and training and add up to an average of $227K per executive. We provide a turnkey "Attrition Turnaround" Program that is guaranteed to do the following: a) cut attrition by 37% or more in the first year and by 63% in the second year. Our "Smart Hiring" Program guarantees a retention rate of 87% over a three-year period. We save our average client $4.2 million in the first year.

Guess who's going to get more business? (And who's going to be able to charge a whole lot more for their services?)

HR Consultant #2 sells an Ultimate Outcome, not a service. In fact all of his services have Ultimate Outcomes. They are relevant and measurable. They grab immediate attention. The solve a pressing problem and offer a turnkey solution. There is no 'process' in an Ultimate Outcome, it's all about 'results.'

Now, I know your objection to all of this. You have no idea how you could possibly structure your business to offer an Ultimate Outcome like this. How is it possible? After all, you don't have those figures and results to point to, for a start.

Sadly, most Independent Professionals have gone down the "this is my process" path for so long that they don't even think about what the client gets. They only know what they do. They haven't tried to produce bottom-line for clients, but have settled with implementing various processes to the best of their ability.

Would you accept such an approach from your doctor?

Doctor #1

"Well, we work with sick people and we do all kinds of operations. You have some kind of cancer, not sure what. It's hard to tell what the outcome will be but we're really good with our surgical instruments and will give it our best shot. I don't know what your budget is, but we'll try to make it as affordable as possible."

Doctor #2

"We are cancer experts. You need to have an operation immediately to remove that tumor. In cases like yours, we have a 79% success rate, so the prognosis is good. We've done dozens of these operations before and we are confident this one won't present us with any major complications. The fee for the operation is $20,000."

Let me see, I think I'll take Doctor #2, thank you very much!

So my answer to, "I don't know how to do this," is, "Learn!! and make it the primary focus of your business." If you don't learn how to deliver Ultimate Outcomes to your clients, you will never reach the level of professionalism that is possible.

Here's the basic process you need to follow:

- Determine the biggest, most pressing problems of your clients. What's a major concern that's costing them dearly? 

- Can you offer a turnkey solution to that problem? Do you have the knowledge and skills to offer an Ultimate Outcome? 

- Develop a program to deliver that Ultimate Outcome. Don't think of what the client can afford but how your Ultimate Outcome will pay for itself many times over. 

- Create compelling marketing materials and strategies that communicate the value (not so much the process) of your Ultimate Outcome. Make sure to create a case study for each client success story. 

- Develop a "selling conversation process" that engages a prospect, determines the cost of their problem and then presents your program as the desired Ultimate Outcome. 

- Deliver your program with every ounce of professional skill that you possess. Don't cut corners. You're there to produce an Ultimate Outcome for a client, not to "render a service."

Get my bestselling Audio Program, "Creating an Ultimate Outcome and Unique Service Offering." This program gives you an even more step-by step methodology to develop Ultimate Outcomes for your business. Only $29.

www.actionplan.com/tc/tc_ultoutcome.html

I wish you the best in creating programs that deliver powerful Ultimate Outcomes. Your success depends on it!

P.S. Look for our program later this year on creating "High-End, Outcome Based Programs." This program is for those who already have the basics of marketing in place. If you don't, I recommend you start with the InfoGuru Marketing Manual (in addition to the audio program above).

www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html

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The More Clients bottom line: If you are not marketing and selling an Ultimate Outcome, you are missing huge opportunities to not only expand your business, but to make the lasting impact with your clients that you've always wanted.

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Do you offer an Ultimate Outcome to your clients? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Comments

[vahila]

Relgolook is a productivity application for Microsoft outlook users. Relgolook information management provides organize and archive emails and information and reduce attrition

[John Maver]

The question always from the buyer's standpoint is "what's in it for me?" Developing the Ulimate Outcome is what we do at Maver Management Group. It ties together the quantifiable outcome benefit for the client with the cost and makes he decision process obvious.

Nicely defined here!